XXX] BOSTON TO WASHINGTON 119 



wonderful and interesting collection of such objects in the 

 world. One of the gentlemen interested in such things, Dr. 

 Hoffman, took me to a field in the suburbs which had been 

 the site of an old Indian village and where arrow-heads were 

 still often found, and I was able to pick up a few specimens 

 myself. 



I was also made free of Cosmos Club, where I went to 

 read papers and magazines. Soon after my arrival Mr. Riley 

 took me to one of the evening receptions, where I met most 

 of the scientific men and women of Washington, and was intro- 

 duced to many of them. Most of them told me they had 

 read my books, and several said that my " Malay Archipelago " 

 had first led them to take an interest in natural history 

 and its more general problems. Here, at one time or another, 

 I met almost all the scientific men of Washington and many 

 of those from other States. One evening I was taken by 

 Major and Mrs. Powell to a meeting of the Literary Society 

 at the house of Mr. Nordhoff, author of an important work 

 on the communistic societies of the United States, and 

 a very advanced thinker. Here I met hosts of people 

 who were really too polite and enthusiastic — " proud to 

 meet me ; " " honour and pleasure never expected ; " read 

 my books all their life ! " etc. — leaving me speechless with 

 amazement ! 



The event of the evening was a paper by Mr. Kennan, 

 describing his recent visit, on his return from Siberia, to 

 Count Tolstoi, the great Russian novelist, philanthropist, and 

 non-resisting nihilist. It was a very clever, sympathetic, and 

 suggestive picture of a man described as " a true social hero — 

 one of the Christ type." I often dined at Mr. Nordhoff's, and 

 met many interesting people there, and spent several pleasant 

 evenings with his highly intellectual family. Among the 

 celebrities I met there were Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, none of 

 whose works I had then read ; Captain Greely, the Arctic 

 explorer ; and Senator and Mrs. Stanford, whom I afterwards 

 visited in California. 



When settled at the hotel I was allotted a place to take 

 my meals, at a table where there were five other persons. Not 



